Tuesday, 30 July 2013

Rail actions - received today 1st and 13th August are key dates

Inbox

x

"The UK already has some of the most expensive train fares in the world, but the rail companies plan to continue to hike the prices up, well above inflation. Over the next six years train operating companies are embarking upon a new programme of cost-cutting (refer to the McNulty report http://www.networkrail.co.uk/aspx/12658.aspx) that could see:

over 20,000 railway jobs put at risk,

the closure of 675 ticket offices and

a 50% increase in the number of unstaffed stations.

Are you, as a climate activist, willing to help campaigns for better RAILWAYS?

The focus on 1 August is Keep East Coast Main Line public! Since 2009 this line has been in public ownership and has been performing better than the other franchises in terms of public satisfaction, lower subsidy and profits returned to the state to be reinvested in services. Yet the government is planning a rushed sell-off by October 2014. Join the email action here.

Friday, 26 July 2013

As Secretary of Green Left and Secretary of the Green Party
Trade Union Group I wish to add support from these groups to Natalie Bennett's
stance on migration. The letter from Sandy Irvine et al grossly misrepresents
opinion within the Green Party and indeed wider opinion on this topic, (has
nobody heard of the work of authors such as Fred Pearce and Danny Dorling (not
as far as I know, GP members) who suggest that population alarmism is misplaced).

When combined with despicable attempts to whip up
anti-immigrant xenophobia, population alarmism lends itself to a first world
first agenda and distracts attention
from the real cases of global economic and ecological crises. I now look
forward to being accused of attempting to 'shut down' debate on population
which is the usual response of Irvine et al to any criticism of their
obsessional stance.

RAIL UNION RMT said today that it will be holding protests between 8am and 9am this Thursday (18th July) the length of the East Coast Mainline as the fight to keep the route in public hands steps up a gear.

In 2009 National Express handed back the franchise for the East Coast Mainline (ECML) to the government, abandoning the contract in a disgraceful negation of their operator’s responsibility, causing huge uncertainty and disruption. It was the second private sector failure on key the key route, following the earlier collapse of GNER.

Since National Express threw the keys back, public ownership (in the form of Directly Operated Railways Ltd) has provided an improved service and vastly more revenue for the Treasury.

In fact, according to answers to questions tabled by the RMT Parliamentary Group, Directly Operated Railways Ltd has (since November 2009) paid £602m in premium payments. This is £232m more than National Express paid back during its tenure and over £209m more than the amount paid in by Virgin/Stagecoach on the West Coast Mainline since 2009-10.

And ECML in the public sector is virtually subsidy free. Public subsidy accounted for only 1.2% of ECML’s total income in 2011-12, compared to an average of 32.1% of the income of the private train operating companies on the 15 other passenger rail franchises.

Despite this, the Conservative-led government is ideologically wedded to returning ECML to the private sector and are preparing to bulldoze through a re-privatisation of the line before the next election, with a third expensive and reckless gamble at the tax payers expense.

As part of the fight to stop the Government plans, on Thursday 18th July RMT is holding a Day of Action to press for East Coast to be kept in the public sector. Between 8 and 9am there will be demos and leafleting at Kings Cross, Doncaster; Leeds, Wakefield, Newcastle, Berwick, Edinburgh Waverley

RMT General Secretary Bob Crow said:

“The truth is that out of pure ideology, this government is prepared to take a third gamble on their big-business friends in a desperate bid to privatise the East Coast Mainline before the election, even though they are well aware that the whole reckless exercise will cost the British public hundreds of millions of pounds in lost income.

“RMT’s research shows that the money currently being reinvested by publicly-owned DOR will go straight into the back pockets of whatever bunch of chancers are given the chance to plunder the East Coast after the previous two private collapses left the public sector to pick up the pieces.

“On Thursday we will take our case to the East Coast passengers and RMT will continue to fight not only to keep the East Coast in public ownership but to renationalise the entire network, ending the great rail rip-off once and for all.”

Friday, 12 July 2013

The two largest teacher unions, the NASUWT and the NUT, representing nine out of ten teachers, are today confirming the next phase of their jointly coordinated campaign to Protect Teachers and Defend Education.

Following the continued refusal of the Secretary of State to genuinely engage with the NUT and the NASUWT to seek to resolve our trade disputes with him, plans are in place for the next stage of industrial action which will include*:

·continuation of the current action short of strike action instructions;

·further national rallies in September;

·a second phase of rolling national strike action in the week beginning 30 September;

·a third phase of rolling national strike action in the week beginning 14 October; and

·a one-day, all-out national strike before the end of the Autumn term.

This follows on from the day of strike action taken on 27 June in the North West of England which resulted in the overwhelming majority of schools being closed or partially closed.

The huge support for the strike is a clear indication that the teaching profession has had enough. Faced with an Education Secretary who refuses to listen, teachers have no option but to continue with their action to defend their profession.

Chris Keates, General Secretary of the NASUWT, said:

“The Secretary of State needs to take seriously the very deep concerns and anger of teachers and school leaders.

“The relentless attack on the teaching profession is damaging the morale of teachers and undermining the education of pupils.

“The Secretary of State has the opportunity to avoid further national strike action by demonstrating that he is willing to engage seriously on the issues that we have put to him.

Christine Blower, General Secretary of the NUT, said:

“Michael Gove is well aware that under his time as Education Secretary, teacher morale has plummeted. Teachers are angry at the Government’s continual undermining of their pay, pensions and working conditions.

“Strike action is always a last resort for teachers and they are very well aware of the difficulties that this causes for parents and pupils. Teachers, however, have been left with no option. If we do not take a stand now to defend the profession, then the consequences for teacher recruitment and education will be disastrous for all.”

ENDS pr124-2013

*Note to editors

In the week commencing 30 September, members will take part in strike action in the Eastern, East Midlands, West Midlands, Yorkshire and Humberside regions and in Wales (regions to be confirmed).

In the week commencing 14 October, members will take part in strike action in the North East, London, South East, South West regions and in Wales (regions to be confirmed).

Thursday, 11 July 2013

Green Party condemn plans to sell of Royal Mail

11 July 2013

Responding to the announcement yesterday by Liberal Democrat Business Secretary Vince Cable that a majority stake in the Royal Mail would be sold off by the government, Green Party leader Natalie Bennett said:

"The privatisation of Royal Mail is the latest ideologically driven, disastrous step by this government which is doing nothing to start the essential reshaping of the British economy, but is determined to hand over the last bits of the family silver to multinational companies.

"The approach of privatisation has proved disastrous for our water system, disastrous for our electricity and gas supplies, and particularly disastrous for our railways. Yet still the push towards it, from Margaret Thatcher through Tony Blair to David Cameron continues.”

Bennett added: "Green MP Caroline Lucas, with her private members' bill to bring the railways back into public ownership is leading the way to reverse this trend. What we need is for the Labour Party to show that it has broken with its New Labour past and back it. That would add a sense of verisimilitude to Labour’s criticisms in parliament today of the Royal Mail move."

Bennett offered congratulations to the CWU and the Royal Mail workers, who are resisting the government's attempts to buy them off with a share handout to staff.

"They understand that privatisation is a devil's pact that inevitably results in damage to staff pay and conditions, cuts to services, and profits stuffed into shareholder's pockets, all too often through the conduit of tax havens.”

Thursday, 4 July 2013

‎A
broad coalition of Ipswich
people including members of all major trade unions, the Labour party and

many
other community groups will be marchingthis Sunday in
support of the town’s
tradition of multiculturalism. The march is organised by Ipswich Unite
Against Fascism (UAF).

The
march comes a week after
members of the far-right English Defence League (EDL) staged a gatheringoutside
the Ipswich offices of Unite the Union, chanting racist abuse at those attending
a meeting in the building.

David
Ellesmere, Labour leader
of Ipswich Borough Council said:"Ipswich
has a long and proud
history of being a diverse town where people of all communities get on.Extremists
who seek to create divisions amongst Ipswich people do not speak for us.
They are not Ipswich and we will not let them divide us."

Miles
Hubbard Unite Regional
Officer said: “This
gives the lie to any
notion that the EDL are a mainstream political organisation. In attempting
to break up a peaceful meeting through intimidation and racist chanting
they have demonstrated all the characteristics of fascism. They are opposed to integration and multiculturalism and are
simply trying to stir up division. By marching we are showing that there
is no place for the politics of hatred in Ipswich.”

The
march will gather at Giles
Circus Queen Street Ipswich at11.00am this Sunday 7th July.

Wednesday, 3 July 2013

As Secretary of the Green Party Trade Union group I would like to send our support for the Copland school strike against academisation and endorse the remarks that Martin Francis made at the recent Copland Rally.

"Speaking to the crowd I gave a message of support from the Green Party Trade Union group and said that the Green Party was opposed to forced academies and the privatisation of education as well as the narrowing of the curriculum proposed by Michael Gove."

With apologies for the very short notice, please the messsage below from SOAS UNISON branch secretary Sandy Nicoll, aimed primarily at London-based comrades. The lobby of the college's Governors is THIS Thursday, 04 July outside the main building at SOAS from c 12.30 onwards. The building is located in Thornhaugh Street, WC1 (nearest Tube station: Russell Square).

PLEASE MAKE EVERY EFFORT TO ATTEND THIS LOBBY!

We are hoping that if we show SOAS management the strength and feeling that exists over this issue then the School will have to take note and end the discrimination faced by these workers.

We have, however, also begun the process leading to possible industrial action in the Autumn should the Governing Body choose to ignore this. A consultative ballot of all our SOAS UNISON members working for ISS voted overwhelmingly (44 in favour with only 1 against) to take sustained strike action if their demand for fair sick pay, holiday entitlement and pensions is not met.

This issue is not going to go away and we will continue to press until these workers have secured the access to decent pensions, holiday entitlement and sick pay they deserve.

First ever FREE family festival in London, celebrating women and girls who changed the world. Music, politics, comedy, poetry, stalls and more- bring material and make a matchwomen's hat with our expert milliner!

Please contact P.Murry at yrrumuk@googlemail.com if you are interested.

GREEN LEFT FRINGE AT AUTUMN CONFERENCE 2012

Both Green Left and the Green Party Trade Union Group applied to have fringes at the Green Party Conference September 7-10 2012, Conferences Committee turned down both these requests. Green Left decided to mount a fringe outside conference at 6-8pm on Saturday 8th September GPTU agreed to support this meeting and contribute towards costs of room hire. Video clips at http://greenleftblog.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/green-left-fringe-fringe-at-green-party.html